Star Wars Zero Company Exposes a Brutal Reality About Game Development in 2026

Star Wars Zero Company launched on August 27 to near-universal acclaim, and given its quality and clear aspirations beyond a merchandising exercise, it's not hard to see why. With an 86 on Metacritic, it's actually become the highest-rated Star Wars game in 22 years, even ahead of excellent titles like Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. Yet most of the team that built Star Wars Zero Company was not being paid when those reviews went live, and that's more than a little frustrating to find out.